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Edward Lucas White
Edward Lucas White (May 11, 1866 - March 30, 1934) was an American poet and prose author. Life White was born in Bergen County, New Jersey. He attended Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. From 1915 until his retirement in 1930, he was a teacher at the University School for Boys in Baltimore. He died by his own hand. On March 30, 1934, 7 years to the day after the death of his wife, Agnes Gerry, he was found dead in the gas-filled bathroom of his Baltimore home. The coroner pronounced it a suicide.[http://www.angelfire.com/planet/edwardian/white_e_l.htm Edwardian Review] His last book, Matrimony (1932) was a memoir of his happy marriage to her. Writing White wrote a number of historical novels, including The Unwilling Vestal (1918), Andivius Hedulio (1921) and Helen (1926); but he is best remembered as a fantasist, for stories such as "The House of Nightmare" and "Lukundoo" These short horror stories were based on his own nightmares. 2 collections of his short fiction were published in his lifetime, The Song of the Sirens (1919) and Lukundoo and Other Stories (1927). 2 posthumous collections of his fiction have been published by Midnight House: The House of the Nightmare, edited by John Pelan, and Sesta, and other strange stories (2001), edited by Lee Weinstein.http://www.MySpace.com/leestein.net at www.leeweinstein.net The latter contains mostly previously unpublished and uncollected material. A much-revised utopian science fiction novel, Plus Ultra, was begun in 1885; White destroyed this draft, but began a rewrite in 1901. In 1918-1919 he produced a novella, From Behind the Stars, which he later incorporated into the massive (S.T. Joshi estimates it at 500,000 words)Joshi, The Evolution of the Weird Tale (Hippocampus Press, 2004), p.43. final version of Plus Ultra, which remains unpublished. "Lukundoo", Lucas's most frequently anthologized story, is the tale of an American explorer in a remote section of Africa who incurs the wrath of the local witch doctor, who casts a spell on him. Hundreds of sore pustules erupt all over the explorer's body. As these develop, it becomes clear that each sore is actually a sort of homunculus: a tiny African man, emerging from within the explorer's flesh. He is able to terminate the development of individual homunculi by beheading them as they develop, but there are too many for him to defeat them all – and some of them are on portions of his back which he cannot reach. The explorer's only option is suicide. A critical essay on White's work, with particular reference to his fantasy and horror fiction, appears in Joshi's book, The Evolution of the Weird Tale (2004). Publications Poetry *''Narrative Lyrics. New York: Knickerbocker Press, for Putnam, 1908. Novels *El Supremo: A romance of the great dictator of Paraguay. New York: Dutton, 1916. *The Unwilling Vestal: A tale of Rome under the Caesars. New York: Dutton, 1918. *Andivius Hedulio: Adventures of a Roman nobleman in the days of the Empire. New York: Dutton, 1921. *Helen: The story of the romance of Helen of Troy, born Helen of Sparta, and of Aithre, mother of King Theseus of Attica, who became Helen's bondslave, handmaid and foster-mother. New York: Doran, 1925. Short fiction *The Song of the Sirens, and other stories. New York: Dutton, 1919. *Lukundoo, and other stories. New York: Doran, 1927. *''Sesta, and other strange stories: The horror fiction. Seattle, WA: Midnight House, 2000. Non-fiction *''Why Rome Fell'' (history). New York: Harper, 1927. *''Matrimony'' (autobiography). Baltimore, MD: Norman, 1932. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Edward Lucas White, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, May 12, 2013. See also *List of U.S. poets References Fonds * Edward Lucas White Papers at Milton S. Eisenhower Library Notes External links ;Poems *Edward Lucas White in An American Anthology, 1787-1900: "Genius," "The Last Bowstrings" ;Prose *"The House of the Nightmare" ;Audio / video *Edward Lucas White at YouTube ;Books * *Edward Lucas White at Amazon.com * ;About Category:1866 births Category:1934 deaths Category:American horror writers Category:American short story writers Category:American poets Category:American historians Category:American historical novelists Category:Historians who committed suicide Category:Writers who committed suicide Category:20th-century poets Category:American schoolteachers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Poets who committed suicide